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Supporting mods for LCA Bearings

NightmareMoon

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While putting in new Steeda dual rate ultimate handling springs, my mechanic noticed one of my rear lower control arm bushings was shot (torn pretty good), and the other, while not torn through, didn't look too far behind.

So I'm thinking about putting in a pair of Steeda spherical LCA bearings. I'm wondering if anything else will be under increased stress with the significantly stiffer LCA bearing in there, possibly shifting strain onto other parts?

My theory is that all the rubber in the stock suspension kind of works together to keep too much stress off any one rubber part, and that starting to stiffen select parts may accelerate wear on other softer parts. IDK its that's really true though.

Now I really don't want any more NVH that I've already got, and I'm adverse to spending money on parts that I don't strictly need. I don't mind some compliance (rubber) in the suspension and even wheel hop isn't a huge concern. However, I'd prefer to keep the rear toe in place under hard low speed acceleration, and I'm hoping these LCA bearings will help do that. I'm not going to throw the entire catalog at the rear suspension just yet (maybe down the road). Currently I just have the springs and Steeda billet rear shock mounts back there. The car sees monthly autox and some hard track time a few times a year. Thoughts?
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AlbertD

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I'm of the same mentality as far as only upgrading what is needed. I do quite a bit of track work and am still running just about all of the rubber bushings out back, although I am running quite a bit softer spring (Steeda Sports). The only thing I have changed rear suspension wise were Steeda adjustable toe links and the Steeda knuckle to toe link bearing. I would highly recommend the toe link bearing especially if you are going to go ahead and do the LCA bearing. The toe link bearing provided a noticeable improvement in rear stability throughout all aspects of a corner. I suspect the factory rubber toe bushing creates a lot of deflection changing the effective toe rate while the suspension is working during decel and corner entry/exit. I now feel like I have surgical like throttle oversteer precision to help the car rotate around a corner. All for $50 bucks and the hassle of pressing out/in the bearing. Quite the bang for the buck.

The Steeda adjustable toe links are not entirely necessary, but I found that my toe was changing during every track outing much in part due to the eccentric bolt design which isn't the most robust especially in comparison with the Steeda piece. I do my own alignments so I can immediately tell the toe kept changing every time. Quite frustrating to have to re-align the car every month. Now with the Steeda piece, toe is rock solid every time and you get the added benefit of more precise adjustability. Adjust the toe with that eccentric washer is a nightmare.

Anyways... my 2 cents.
 

BmacIL

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While putting in new Steeda dual rate ultimate handling springs, my mechanic noticed one of my rear lower control arm bushings was shot (torn pretty good), and the other, while not torn through, didn't look too far behind.

So I'm thinking about putting in a pair of Steeda spherical LCA bearings. I'm wondering if anything else will be under increased stress with the significantly stiffer LCA bearing in there, possibly shifting strain onto other parts?

My theory is that all the rubber in the stock suspension kind of works together to keep too much stress off any one rubber part, and that starting to stiffen select parts may accelerate wear on other softer parts. IDK its that's really true though.

Now I really don't want any more NVH that I've already got, and I'm adverse to spending money on parts that I don't strictly need. I don't mind some compliance (rubber) in the suspension and even wheel hop isn't a huge concern. However, I'd prefer to keep the rear toe in place under hard low speed acceleration, and I'm hoping these LCA bearings will help do that. I'm not going to throw the entire catalog at the rear suspension just yet (maybe down the road). Currently I just have the springs and Steeda billet rear shock mounts back there. The car sees monthly autox and some hard track time a few times a year. Thoughts?
I'd think hard about it, though not so much from a durability perspective as NVH. I have the bearings in my garage but haven't put them in (mostly because it's a giant PITA). The feedback from those who've done it is generally the following: much more responsive and communicative rear end, and the car feels more agile and precise. The negative is you'll feel a lot more of the road. If you don't have a cradle lockout, that will probably be reduced significantly, though I'd say doing some form of cradle motion limiting (like the CB005 or CB762) is far more bang for the buck. With that, the rear feels much more locked in and it feels like it and the front are actually connected to the same rigid body. I honestly don't remember what it was like before the CB005, but I remember the stark difference in the way the car drove after.
 

West TX GT

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The Ford racing toe link bearings. Because you are already down there pressing in bearings. I did them both at the same time so I can't say which had the bigger impact but the LCA/toe link combo made the rear feel so much better. NVH was not significantly affected.
 
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I'd think hard about it, though not so much from a durability perspective as NVH. I have the bearings in my garage but haven't put them in (mostly because it's a giant PITA). The feedback from those who've done it is generally the following: much more responsive and communicative rear end, and the car feels more agile and precise. The negative is you'll feel a lot more of the road. If you don't have a cradle lockout, that will probably be reduced significantly, though I'd say doing some form of cradle motion limiting (like the CB005 or CB762) is far more bang for the buck. With that, the rear feels much more locked in and it feels like it and the front are actually connected to the same rigid body. I honestly don't remember what it was like before the CB005, but I remember the stark difference in the way the car drove after.
Well, mine are shot, and I cant quite bring myself to press stock rubber back in there. They _claim_ no additional NVH, and I'm stock rubber from there up. The stiff springs and Koni compression rates already have me feeling a lot of road, which I think I'll be fine with.

WestTxGT and AlbertD, thanks for the comments on the toe link bearing, I think we can hit that too while things are apart.
 

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The RLCA bearing will definitely add NVH. No mistake about it. If you are going to do it, I strongly recommend the Steeda shock mounts. And while you're in there do the Ford Performance toe-knuckle bearing.

On a positive note NVH aside, the rear will feel much more communicative and the car just feels different. Try it, I think you'll like it. If you're cool with the KONIs and the stiff springs, you'll be okay with this I think.
 

BLSTOIS

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The RLCA bearing will definitely add NVH. No mistake about it. If you are going to do it, I strongly recommend the Steeda shock mounts. And while you're in there do the Ford Performance toe-knuckle bearing.

On a positive note NVH aside, the rear will feel much more communicative and the car just feels different. Try it, I think you'll like it. If you're cool with the KONIs and the stiff springs, you'll be okay with this I think.
If the definition of NVH is noise,I got really minimal NVH increase from the LCA, toe ling bearing, adjustable camber arms, billet shock mounts, etc. All the noise and whine came from the differential inserts which i had done previously to the rest of the IRS:shock:. The rest of the mods maybe made that gear whine 10% louder. But yes agreed, the ride is definitely firmer and less compliant
 

BmacIL

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If the definition of NVH is noise,I got really minimal NVH increase from the LCA, toe ling bearing, adjustable camber arms, billet shock mounts, etc. All the noise and whine came from the differential inserts which i had done previously to the rest of the IRS:shock:. The rest of the mods maybe made that gear whine 10% louder. But yes agreed, the ride is definitely firmer and less compliant
Noise, Vibration and Harshness
Most of what you'd get with these is H, and a bit of N from bumps, but not general road or tire noise.
 

Bluemustang

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If the definition of NVH is noise,I got really minimal NVH increase from the LCA, toe ling bearing, adjustable camber arms, billet shock mounts, etc. All the noise and whine came from the differential inserts which i had done previously to the rest of the IRS:shock:. The rest of the mods maybe made that gear whine 10% louder. But yes agreed, the ride is definitely firmer and less compliant
Sweet setup there man. (Not meaning to hijack the thread, but) may I ask are you keeping the differential inserts? I'm using the black polyurethane ones and yes the whine is very noticeable and even more so with time.
 

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Sweet setup there man. (Not meaning to hijack the thread, but) may I ask are you keeping the differential inserts? I'm using the black polyurethane ones and yes the whine is very noticeable and even more so with time.
Thanks, and I will probably keep them but not sure, because the amount of clunking I get at low RPM while engaging and disengaging the clutch in 1st and 2nd gear is unreal. And im still on P-zeros, i imagine with another summer tire the car would ride way better. I think the OP should definitely do the LCA bearing
 

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NightmareMoon

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Yeah so RLCA and toe links installed. I don't really notice much if any additional NVH. Maybe I can hear big bumps a bit more, but no like road noise or vibration that I can tell.
 

West TX GT

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Yeah so RLCA and toe links installed. I don't really notice much if any additional NVH. Maybe I can hear big bumps a bit more, but no like road noise or vibration that I can tell.
That was my experience as well. The only con was the install. It's all positive once they are in.
 

BmacIL

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Yeah so RLCA and toe links installed. I don't really notice much if any additional NVH. Maybe I can hear big bumps a bit more, but no like road noise or vibration that I can tell.
Yeah I think yours is minimized because you don't have any subframe isolation.
 

West TX GT

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Mine already had CB005 and there wasn't much nvh change, just more "road feel". The diff lock out more than made up for it though. That one mod increased NVH by 832%.
 

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Mine already had CB005 and there wasn't much nvh change, just more "road feel". The diff lock out more than made up for it though. That one mod increased NVH by 832%.
This is making me wonder if my extra NVH came from the diff bushing lockouts and not so much the RLCA bearing. I seem to be seeing more people complain of the NVH with RLCA + diff bushings combined.
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